Brand new guide for sports lighting now available

The Society of Light and Lighting (SLL) has launched the latest revision of Lighting Guide LG4: Sports Lighting.

There have been considerable developments since the previous edition, published in 2006, with an addendum in 2015, in both technologies and emerging sports. This guide is based only on the use of light-emitting diode (LED) light sources.

The new guide’s recommendations have been aligned with the British Standard and European Norm (BS EN) 12193 (BSI, 2018). In updating the information, note has been taken of new and emerging sports that were not included in the 2006 guide or BS EN 12193, but which are played in the UK, and of proposed amendments to BS EN 12193.

“Since LG4 was last published we have seen a gradual alignment taking place between different publications, particularly EN 12193,” said Mike Simpson, Signify– chair and author of LG4: Sports Lighting.

“In revising LG4 we ensured ongoing alignment with other published standards and fully incorporated the 2014 amendments for broadcasting. The main task was to update the guide given the switch to LED technology and eliminate guidance which was based on lamp types no longer used. Users will see that for outdoor sport the colour rendering is now >70 giving better quality without any compromise in efficacy. The environmental guidance has also been updated to reflect the growing awareness of the issues surrounding outdoor lighting at night. The guide has been prepared by designers with deep experience in the subject and will be of value to anyone undertaking a sports project.”

“Lighting a sports venue and in particular, the actual sports space requires a design process that considers many inputs,” said Sophie Parry, Trilux - Technical & Publications Chair, SLL.

“About 12 years ago, the introduction of LED lighting corresponding with the introduction of high-definition cameras and broadcasting created some interesting technical challenges in terms of HD recording and slow-motion action replay quality for professional level sports.

“There are also minimum lighting quality requirements for sports that are published by that’s sports national or international governing body (NGO) and/or the collective and representative national body such as Sport England. This consistent approach ensures competitive sports are played under the same lighting conditions, irrespective of location to ensure consistency, especially when titles are being claimed or records broken.”

The revised guide is now in four parts and includes guidance on the principles of lighting with respect to sport, specific lighting requirements for individual sports (indoor and outdoor), maintenance and operation of sports lighting and specification of equipment for sports lighting.

As before, the aim of the guide is to create design flexibility while achieving basic lighting requirements for each sport.

The sport requirements and recommendations give specific information relating to good lighting practice for each individual sport. Tabulated lighting parameters are provided for each sports application relative to the new system of lighting classes. The addendum issued in 2015 relating to the lighting requirements for broadcasting has been included and updated.

The publication task group were: Mike Simpson, Signify (Chair); Giulio Antonutto, Arup; Russell Evans, Griffiths Evans; Richard Morris, Arup; Dr Alan Smith, Independent Lighting; Kevin Theobald, Independent Lighting; Iain Macrae, consultant.

The SLL is a division of the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE). Members of CIBSE and the SLL receive unlimited online access to guides via the CIBSE Knowledge Portal.

Find out more about the SLL and access your copy of LG4: Sports Lighting https://www.cibse.org/knowledge-research/knowledge-portal/lg4-sports-lighting-2023.